Her Dying Words
by alyssialui
Summary: A dying woman shares a few last words with her granddaughter, Rowena. Founder's Era. Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (Round 11).


_A/N: A dying woman shares a few last words with her granddaughter, Rowena. (Words: 984) RxR. FxF._

_Submission for:_

**_The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (Round 11) - _**_Chaser 3: Write about a day someone divorces or dies. Prompts: Year 983, (word) __information, (quote) "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it.", (poem) Strange Meeting, Wilfred Owen_

_**Represent That Character! Challenge II**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

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><p>Rowena was eighteen when her grandmother died. She knew that her grandmother was dying weeks before it actually happened. She had always been old but was usually bright and smiling, eager to talk to anyone. Soon, Rowena noticed she was becoming weaker, her voice softer and her skin paler. Rowena knew but whenever she asked, the adults would tell her otherwise. They would paint fanciful stories or just brush her concerns aside. Her grandmother was fine, she was getting older but she wasn't dying. Rowena didn't agree. Rowena just knew.<p>

She had been visiting her grandmother in her cottage with her parents when her grandmother asked to speak to her alone. Rowena had asked the question again that they, an ominous tone in her voice as if she knew something they didn't. Her parents nodded with wary looks in their eyes before giving them some privacy. Her grandmother beckoned her into her arms and Rowena could smell the overwhelming amount of powder but also the apples her grandmother used to love to eat. She leaned in close to her grandmother's lips as she pulled her in. Her grandmother said breathily, "I know you know, Rowena. I can see it in your eyes."

Rowena eyes widened as she looked around if anyone could hear and should stop her grandmother from speaking. Her parents always seemed to want to keep her from knowledge, from knowing the truth. But not her grandmother. Her grandmother always told her everything she wanted to know.

The old woman smiled softly before saying, "Don't be afraid, child. It's just us here now. I have something to tell you before I go, some vital information I want you to take with you for the rest of your life." She took a deep breath, the air almost getting trapped in her throat as she said:

"I have lived for many years, Rowena. I have lived, laughed and loved. I have witnessed many miracles and many births, such as yours and your mother's. But I have also witnessed much sadness and disaster.

I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it. There is just so much fighting and ignorance in the world, that if you were to let it get to you, you would go mad. You would cry out in desperation for others to just take a step back and see the havoc they have caused but your cries fall on deaf ears. These words may seem a bit exaggerated, my dear, but you're a smart girl so I'm sure you'll understand as long as you remember what I say.

"Our kind have been at war with muggles for centuries, a constant battle based on fear of the unknown. They don't know about our abilities and we who do not take the time to learn theirs. Both sides keep their knowledge hidden from the other, fearing that once their secrets are revealed, they will be left vulnerable and at the other's mercy.

In my lifetime, I have seen many die around me. I have even walked through destroyed towns and seen faces frozen in smiles and frowns. In at those moment, I realized that muggles and wizards were no different. We are born the same and die the same. Time seemed to stand still as I ghosted above their bodies. They reached out with cold hands towards me as if searching but not yet finding. Some were in the final seconds of life and they pleaded with me to do something, anything but I didn't.

And I realized that I was just as much as an offender or killer as they were that had caused all this sadness. I feared the muggles as well and I was reluctant to share of myself. I played my part in that war, even if I had never held a wand to anyone. They died, both muggle and wizard, because people like me sat by while others took a stand for the wrong reasons.

From that day, I tried to be different and though my part may not have been significant to everyone else, it was significant to me and everyone I helped. While others were walking away from the truth, away from progress and peace, I was trying to make amends.

"Knowledge is meant to be shared. Don't you forget that Rowena. You be a good girl for your mum and dad. Learn and never let them stop you from knowing the truth. Don't keep the truth hidden."

There was one more breath and then her grandmother's arms fell from her shoulder, her eyes closing slowly. Rowena should have been surprised, she should have been scared and screaming, she should have been sad. Anyone else would have called out for help, but Rowena was different. She smiled and kissed her grandmother on the cheek as her last goodbye. She would do exactly has her grandmother said. She would continue learning and never keep it hidden from anyone. She would share her knowledge with the world and teach tolerance and love to all that were in search of the truth.

She began reading all she could, travelling the world and talking to everyone she met. She listened to their stories, their memories, their dreams and their woes. She poured over tomes and parchments full of knowledge and lessons, messages that traversed time and were written by past to the future. She shared her own stories and history and enlightened others as she was enlightened. And with her grandmother's words still in mind and the help of three other like-minded wizards and witch, she opened a school to teach the multitudes of children about the wonders of magic and encourage the joy of learning and knowledge within them.


End file.
